Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun chiefly UK a malted milk hot bedtime drink
  • noun euphemistic, chiefly UK, slang bollocks – a muddle, hash or balls-up
  • verb euphemistic, chiefly UK, slang to make a hash (of something); to make a Horlicks of.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From William Horlick, founder. Term extended as euphemism for bollocks ("mess").

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Examples

  • HORLICKS Org: Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Promotion across India, distributed as a freebie along with 500gms Horlicks.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2009

  • Many a night, as we have sought to follow the tradition of putting up on overnight posting – which we have come to call our "Horlicks", after the eponymous bed-time drink – we have groaned inwardly at the leaden, inane prose that confronts us, wondering how on earth we can present something, anything, that will entertain and inform our readers.

    Two years old Richard 2006

  • It was almost with a sense of panic that, in the small hours of this morning, I trawled through the internet news sources looking for something newsworthy and interesting not necessarily the same thing to park on the blog as our overnight story – or "Horlicks" as we have come to call it.

    An establishment turning in on itself Richard 2008

  • And then to cap it all he couldn't even stop his dithering without making a complete 'Horlicks' of it.

    Dithering and Dissembling Glyn Davies 2007

  • And then to cap it all he couldn't even stop his dithering without making a complete 'Horlicks' of it.

    Archive 2007-10-01 Glyn Davies 2007

  • The chef, whose best-known dishes have included ingredients such as Horlicks and Weetabix, is to open the upmarket eaterie with his partner Katie O'Brien.

    unknown title 2008

  • His theme for today is "carbon capture", something we did last night for the "Horlicks" so I did not want to return to it so quickly.

    EU Referendum 2008

  • The company produces treatments for asthma, cancer and HIV, as well as brands including Horlicks, Aquafresh, Lucozade and Ribena.

    GlaxoSmithKline boss: firms shouldn't quit Britain for tax reasons 2011

  • To mark this special association, Horlicks for the first time has come up with a Special Edition Ra.

    Deals India: Morning News Roundup Deals India Staff 2011

  • Having Katy B-ed all over tracks by Sampha, SBTRKT and Joker, serial guest vocalist Jessie Ware goes it alone for her debut single, a gentle, soulful bass-wobble that feels like a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket made of Horlicks.

    This week's new singles 2011

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